Chapter 161: Closing Eyes to See Not, Hundred Swords Born
The yellow sand rose from the ground, like a sandstorm, and Chen Changsheng suddenly vanished.
Only a crisp cracking sound was heard, and a clear sword scar appeared on the stone wall of the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Chen Changsheng's figure reappeared, already two zhang away from where he had originally stood. It was impossible to see how he had gotten there.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the sword scar on the stone wall was about an inch deep, faintly revealing the white stone beneath.
This was the Pope's Green Leaf World, between the real and the illusory, where buildings were exceptionally sturdy. Moreover, the Dust-Washing Pavilion itself had defensive formations. The fact that Zhuang Huanyu's seemingly casual swing of his sword could leave such a deep scar on the stone wall showed just how much damage it would have caused if it had landed on him.
Even with his current defensive abilities, which were unimaginably strong, he could not directly withstand this sword strike.
Fortunately, he had never thought of breaking Zhuang Huanyu's sword strike, nor had he thought of blocking it. From the very beginning, his plan was to avoid it first.
The moment Zhuang Huanyu drew his sword, he moved. When that fierce sword light flashed in his eyes, his right foot had already stepped into the yellow sand covering the ground, and then he moved in an instant.
If the yellow sand could reflect the real night sky, his original position was where the Shen star was located, and his current position was where the Kang star was located.
He treated the yellow sand as wind and snow, borrowing the intent of wind and snow, walking the positions of the constellations, his movement technique strange and unpredictable—this was the Yashī Step.
"Is this the Yashī Step?"
Zhuang Huanyu looked at him calmly and said, not moved by the fact that he had dodged his sword light. Clearly, he was fully aware of Chen Changsheng's performance in the previous rounds.
Chen Changsheng said nothing, his right hand still gripping the sword hilt tightly, his gaze slightly lowered, fixed on Zhuang Huanyu's right hand holding the sword.
Zhuang Huanyu took a step forward, extending his sword horizontally, his demeanor extremely composed.
Chen Changsheng saw clearly that his right hand gripping the sword tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white—this was a sign of exerting force.
Several beams of sword light silently crossed a distance of over ten zhang and arrived before him.
Chen Changsheng moved again before the sword light arrived, his spiritual sense condensed into a single thread, his figure suddenly accelerating. He seemed to take two steps westward, but in the shift, he ended up behind.
Again, it was the Yashī Step, this time following the path between the Eastern Seven Mansions.
Several very clear cutting sounds rang out on the stone wall to his right rear.
Stone chips fell rustling to the ground, and four distinct sword scars appeared, extremely fierce.
Zhuang Huanyu's expression was calm, and he took another step forward, closing the distance with Chen Changsheng once more.
Chen Changsheng stared at his right hand holding the sword, his expression grave.
Zhuang Huanyu's sword was too fast, too fierce. The battle had just begun, and after only two swings, he already felt immense pressure.
A faint sound of admiration came from the second floor.
It was admiration for Zhuang Huanyu.
In the previous rounds of the Grand Examination, Zhuang Huanyu had not encountered any strong opponents, and his performance had been ordinary. He lacked the aura of a young leader from the various academies of the capital, to the point of being somewhat overlooked.
But he had once defeated Qijian and had been cultivating quietly in the Heavenly Dao Academy ever since. That was why his ranking on the Azure Cloud List had always hovered around tenth place. It was because his target was Qiushan Jun, and Qiushan Jun was no longer on the list. In fact, he believed he had the strength to enter the top three of the Azure Cloud List. Even if he faced Zhexiu, he had no fear.
The pride of the Heavenly Dao Academy naturally had the right to be proud.
Such a proud young strongman, facing Chen Changsheng, immediately unleashed the Heavenly Dao Academy's ultimate technique. This showed that he valued Chen Changsheng highly and also that he did not want to give Chen Changsheng any chance.
Chen Changsheng's movement technique was too fast, too unpredictable. If he had offensive abilities to match his movement, then he might indeed be able to threaten him.
So Zhuang Huanyu gave him no chance to attack, directly suppressing him within the range near the stone wall with his fierce sword intent.
This was the crushing of a strongman with absolute superiority in both realm and strength, just like how Luoluo had crushed that Huai Academy scholar earlier.
He swung his sword again, and several more beams of sword light shot through the air.
The harsh sound of the air being torn continued.
Yellow sand began to rise within the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
Sword light flashed rapidly through it, like lightning.
Sword scars kept appearing on the stone wall, clear and deep, as if a craftsman were carving a calligraphy piece on it.
Many footprints appeared on the yellow sand on the ground, some in the west, some in the east, with no pattern between them.
With a soft hiss.
Chen Changsheng appeared near a spot close to the stone wall, with a very shallow wound on his right shoulder.
Dozens of beams of sword light came in succession. He narrowly avoided most of them, but when shifting from the Liu Well position to the Lou Constellation, his true essence flow encountered a hitch, slowing him by a fraction of a moment, and the sword light caught up.
Zhuang Huanyu held his sword, pointing it diagonally at the ground, looking exceptionally elegant.
In comparison, Chen Changsheng's clothes were covered in sand grains. Even the shallowest wound was still a wound, so he looked somewhat disheveled.
But his expression remained calm, his eyes fixed on Zhuang Huanyu's right hand holding the sword, very focused.
The Linsword was a Heavenly Dao Academy ultimate technique, extremely draining on true essence. Movement techniques like the Yashī Step also consumed a great deal of true essence.
The reason Zhuang Huanyu was so confident, directly suppressing Chen Changsheng with his sword technique, was that he cultivated diligently, had high talent, a very distant destiny star, and an amount of true essence that was at the peak among his peers. Even if they continued like this, he could wear Chen Changsheng down, and Chen Changsheng had no way to break this situation.
"Is this all you've got?"
He looked at Chen Changsheng and asked, his expression serious, without any hint of mockery, but with a trace of disappointment between his slightly tired brows. To prepare for the Grand Examination, starting from the Green Vine Banquet, he had cultivated day and night without rest, all for this battle today. Yet, although Chen Changsheng's performance was already quite good, it still left him very dissatisfied.
Chen Changsheng's breathing was a bit rapid. Continuously using the Yashī Step and pushing his speed to the limit had exhausted his already meager true essence. His spiritual sense, used to calculate star positions and steps, was also extremely tired. The most troublesome thing was that Zhuang Huanyu's sword was too fierce. He barely managed to dodge but couldn't attack the opponent, so it was ultimately a losing battle.
He didn't want to fail. He had to launch an attack.
Just as Zhuang Huanyu asked this question, his right foot once again stepped into the yellow sand before him. But this time, he didn't use the Yashī Step. Instead, he transmitted all his power to the sole of his foot. The terrifying strength he had strangely gained after seeing the Black Dragon that night instantly cracked the ground in several places, and his body shot forward like a blur, leaving a trail of afterimages.
With a tearing sound, Zhuang Huanyu's sword moved silently, but the sound of the sword light cutting through the air was very clear.
Chen Changsheng's speed at this moment was unimaginably fast. It seemed he was about to meet the sword light, but then he suddenly vanished.
He had hidden the Yashī Step's movement technique within his charge!
A faint flicker in the yellow sand, and in an instant, Chen Changsheng appeared before Zhuang Huanyu.
This was the first time he had been so close to Zhuang Huanyu, close enough to finally attack him.
His left hand held the scabbard, his right hand the hilt, and he was about to draw his sword.
At that moment, Zhuang Huanyu's sword-like brows slightly raised, a look of pity in his eyes, and he threw a punch.
His right hand held the sword, while his left hand had been hanging by his side, slowly accumulating true essence.
What seemed like a casual punch was actually a long-gathering force.
With a dull thud, like the sound of a bell.
A mighty force, driven by his fist, struck through the air, sending waves of air in all directions.
Chen Changsheng was sent flying directly, tumbling through the air many times, like a stone, before falling toward the ground in the distance.
With a slap, he landed heavily on the ground, but it wasn't a fall, because his bare feet first touched the yellow sand, his knees half-bent, and he stood steadily.
A short sword was held horizontally before his eyes. It must have been this short sword that blocked Zhuang Huanyu's long-anticipated punch.
His hands, holding both ends of the short sword, trembled slightly. Even with his great strength, facing such a burst of true essence, he was at a disadvantage.
"Is this all you've got?"
Zhuang Huanyu walked toward him, repeating the same words, and then said, "This really disappoints me."
Seeing Chen Changsheng's level was one of the most important reasons he participated in the Grand Examination.
When he saw Luoluo and Chen Changsheng together outside the Li Palace, in the Zhaowen Hall, by the Qu River, and by the forest outside the Dust-Washing Pavilion, he became angry, then calm. The angrier he got, the calmer he became.
Chen Changsheng stood up, looked at him, and said, "Knock me down first, then talk."
With that, his figure vanished again.
The yellow sand in the Dust-Washing Pavilion surged like a blizzard.
He squeezed out the last of his true essence, his spiritual sense calculating positions at an unimaginable speed.
In the blizzard-like yellow sand, his figure appeared and disappeared, now in the east, now in the west.
In an instant, countless footprints appeared on the ground, dense as stars in the night sky.
He walked according to the positions of the constellations, his steps extremely strange and hard to predict. It seemed that in the next moment, he would appear before Zhuang Huanyu and deliver a fatal blow.
No matter how fast or fierce the Linsword was, it couldn't catch up to Chen Changsheng in this state.
He didn't look at Zhuang Huanyu's sword, nor did he pay attention to his surroundings. He just walked the Yashī Step on his own.
The Yashī Step walked the stars, using the wind and snow to conceal its form. There would always be a moment when he reached Zhuang Huanyu's front.
It seemed like a very clever response.
The curved sword light, just as it was about to cut into his body, would often brush past him.
Zhuang Huanyu's expression slightly stiffened, but he didn't show nervousness.
He couldn't see Chen Changsheng's position clearly, couldn't predict where Chen Changsheng would appear next.
So, he closed his eyes.
He wasn't using his spiritual sense to perceive Chen Changsheng's position, because even if he could sense it, his sword couldn't land in time.
The Linsword fell from his hand, thrust into the yellow sand on the ground, trembling slightly.
He spread his hands, his black hair wildly flying, his true essence erupting.
The trembling of the Linsword instantly became extremely intense.
Ssssssss
Hundreds of sword shadows detached from the sword body, instantly filling the entire space of the Dust-Washing Pavilion.
The next moment, several sword shadows in the northwest part of the pavilion showed a slight hesitation.
Chen Changsheng was cut out by those sword shadows, his body slamming heavily into the stone wall, sliding down to the ground, stirring up several clouds of dust.
Three wounds appeared on his body, blood slowly seeping out.
"Now, I've knocked you down."
Zhuang Huanyu opened his eyes, looking at him calmly, and said.
(Closing eyes to see not, hundred swords, see you tomorrow, Chen Changsheng doesn't play with swords.)